Sripati
Encyclopedia
Śrīpati was an India
n astronomer
and mathematician
, the author of Dhikotidakarana (written in 1039), a work of twenty verses on solar
and lunar eclipse
s; Dhruvamanasa (written in 1056), a work of 105 verses on calculating planetary longitude
s, eclipses and planetary transits
; Siddhantasekhara a major work on astronomy in 19 chapters; and Ganitatilaka, an incomplete arithmetic
al treatise in 125 verses based on a work by Shridhara.
s. His work on astronomy was undertaken to provide a basis for his astrology
. Śrīpati was the most prominent Indian mathematicians of the 11th century.
The titles of Chapters 13, 14, and 15 of the Siddhantasekhara are Arithmetic, Algebra and On the Sphere. Chapter 13 consists of 55 verses on arithmetic, mensuration, and shadow reckoning. It is probable that the lost portion of the arithmetic treatise Ganitatilaka consisted essentially of verses 19–55 of this chapter. The 37 verses of Chapter 14 on algebra state various rules of algebra without proof. These are given in verbal form without algebraic symbols. In verses 3, 4 and 5 of this chapter Śrīpati gave the rules of signs for addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, square, square root, cube and cube root of positive and negative quantities. His work on equations in this chapter contains the rule for solving a quadratic equation
and, more impressively, he gives the identity:
Other mathematics included in Śrīpati's work includes, in particular, rules for the solution of simultaneous indeterminate equations of the first degree that are similar to those given by Brahmagupta
Śrīpati obtained more fame in astrology than in other areas and it is fair to say that he considered this to be his most important contributions. He wrote the Jyotisaratnamala which was an astrology text in twenty chapters based on the Jyotisaratnakosa of Lalla. Śrīpati wrote a commentary on this work in Marathi and it is one of the oldest works to have survived that is written in that language. Marathi is the oldest of the regional languages in Indo-Aryan, dating from about 1000.
Another work on astrology written by Śrīpati is the Jatakapaddhati or Śrīpatipaddhatiḥ ̣ which is in eight chapters and is [1]:-
... one of the fundamental textbooks for later Indian genethlialogy, contributing an impressive elaboration to the computation of the strengths of the planets and astrological places. It was enormously popular, as the large number of manuscripts, commentaries, and imitations attests.
Genethlialogy was the science of casting nativities and it was the earliest branch of astrology which claimed to be able to predict the course of a person's life based on the positions of the planets and of the signs of the zodiac at the moment the person was born or conceived.
There is one other work on astrology the Daivajnavallabha which some historians claim was written by Śrīpati while other claim that it is the work of Varahamihira. As yet nobody has come up with a definite case to show which of these two is the author, or even whether the author is another astrologer.
Śrīpati had introduced one of the main methods of house division in Jyotiṣa, known as Śrīpati Bhāva System (see Bhāva
).
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
and mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
, the author of Dhikotidakarana (written in 1039), a work of twenty verses on solar
Solar eclipse
As seen from the Earth, a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, and the Moon fully or partially blocks the Sun as viewed from a location on Earth. This can happen only during a new moon, when the Sun and the Moon are in conjunction as seen from Earth. At least...
and lunar eclipse
Lunar eclipse
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes behind the Earth so that the Earth blocks the Sun's rays from striking the Moon. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle. Hence, a lunar eclipse can only occur the night of a...
s; Dhruvamanasa (written in 1056), a work of 105 verses on calculating planetary longitude
Longitude
Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....
s, eclipses and planetary transits
Astronomical transit
The term transit or astronomical transit has three meanings in astronomy:* A transit is the astronomical event that occurs when one celestial body appears to move across the face of another celestial body, hiding a small part of it, as seen by an observer at some particular vantage point...
; Siddhantasekhara a major work on astronomy in 19 chapters; and Ganitatilaka, an incomplete arithmetic
Arithmetic
Arithmetic or arithmetics is the oldest and most elementary branch of mathematics, used by almost everyone, for tasks ranging from simple day-to-day counting to advanced science and business calculations. It involves the study of quantity, especially as the result of combining numbers...
al treatise in 125 verses based on a work by Shridhara.
Early life
Śrīpati's father was Nagadeva (sometimes written as Namadeva) and Nagadeva's father, Sripati's paternal grandfather, was Kesava. Śrīpati was a follower of the teaching of Lalla writing on astrology, astronomy and mathematics. His mathematical work was undertaken with applications to astronomy in mind, for example a study of sphereSphere
A sphere is a perfectly round geometrical object in three-dimensional space, such as the shape of a round ball. Like a circle in two dimensions, a perfect sphere is completely symmetrical around its center, with all points on the surface lying the same distance r from the center point...
s. His work on astronomy was undertaken to provide a basis for his astrology
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
. Śrīpati was the most prominent Indian mathematicians of the 11th century.
Work
Among Śrīpati's works are: Dhikotidakarana written in 1039, a work of twenty verses on solar and lunar eclipses; Dhruvamanasa written in 1056, a work of 105 verses on calculating planetary longitudes, eclipses and planetary transits; Siddhantasekhara a major work on astronomy in 19 chapters; and Ganitatilaka an incomplete arithmetical treatise in 125 verses based on a work by Sridhara.The titles of Chapters 13, 14, and 15 of the Siddhantasekhara are Arithmetic, Algebra and On the Sphere. Chapter 13 consists of 55 verses on arithmetic, mensuration, and shadow reckoning. It is probable that the lost portion of the arithmetic treatise Ganitatilaka consisted essentially of verses 19–55 of this chapter. The 37 verses of Chapter 14 on algebra state various rules of algebra without proof. These are given in verbal form without algebraic symbols. In verses 3, 4 and 5 of this chapter Śrīpati gave the rules of signs for addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, square, square root, cube and cube root of positive and negative quantities. His work on equations in this chapter contains the rule for solving a quadratic equation
Quadratic equation
In mathematics, a quadratic equation is a univariate polynomial equation of the second degree. A general quadratic equation can be written in the formax^2+bx+c=0,\,...
and, more impressively, he gives the identity:
- √(x + √y) = √[(x + √(x2 − y)]/2 + √[(x − √(x2 − y)]/2)
Other mathematics included in Śrīpati's work includes, in particular, rules for the solution of simultaneous indeterminate equations of the first degree that are similar to those given by Brahmagupta
Śrīpati obtained more fame in astrology than in other areas and it is fair to say that he considered this to be his most important contributions. He wrote the Jyotisaratnamala which was an astrology text in twenty chapters based on the Jyotisaratnakosa of Lalla. Śrīpati wrote a commentary on this work in Marathi and it is one of the oldest works to have survived that is written in that language. Marathi is the oldest of the regional languages in Indo-Aryan, dating from about 1000.
Another work on astrology written by Śrīpati is the Jatakapaddhati or Śrīpatipaddhatiḥ ̣ which is in eight chapters and is [1]:-
... one of the fundamental textbooks for later Indian genethlialogy, contributing an impressive elaboration to the computation of the strengths of the planets and astrological places. It was enormously popular, as the large number of manuscripts, commentaries, and imitations attests.
Genethlialogy was the science of casting nativities and it was the earliest branch of astrology which claimed to be able to predict the course of a person's life based on the positions of the planets and of the signs of the zodiac at the moment the person was born or conceived.
There is one other work on astrology the Daivajnavallabha which some historians claim was written by Śrīpati while other claim that it is the work of Varahamihira. As yet nobody has come up with a definite case to show which of these two is the author, or even whether the author is another astrologer.
Śrīpati had introduced one of the main methods of house division in Jyotiṣa, known as Śrīpati Bhāva System (see Bhāva
Bhāva
Bhāva is a term in Jyotisha denoting a fixed zodiacal division of the sky from the perspective of an observer. It corresponds to the concept of "house" in Western astrology...
).